Prediction: Leicester vs Manchester United

The long wait is finally over as the match between Premier League champions Leicester City and FA Cup winners Manchester United serves as a curtain-raiser for the new football season in England. The Community Shield game will be a perfect opportunity for both managers to see where their respective teams are at the moment.

Leicester City

Leicester City shocked the football world by lifting the Premier League trophy last season, and the biggest question now is whether they can continue the rich vein of form. Even though heavy defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona in pre-season were difficult to take, Claudio Ranieri is spot on in saying that those games were a great learning curve for his side, which haven’t had the chance to face top foreign teams in the past. There were plenty of positives to take from the 4-2 loss as summer recruit Ahmed Musa scored a brace at Friends Arena in Solna, while fellow winger Bartosz Kapustka also played his first game for the club. Star striker Jamie Vardy also returned into action after a wrist injury, and he is expected to feature against Manchester United as well. Claudio Ranieri has got quite a few selection dilemmas ahead of the start of the new season, but he did point out that he would field his strongest line-up at Wembley. Whether that will prove enough to secure the not-so-coveted trophy, it remains to be seen.

Team News

Jamie Vardy should start despite lacking match fitness, while Ahmed Musa is also pushing for an inclusion after the impressive cameo vs Barcelona.

The likes of Ben Chilwell and Nampalys Mendy are challenging Christian Fuchs and Andy King respectively for a place in the side.

Manchester United

Manchester United desperately needed a lift after yet another disappointing season and the arrival of Jose Mourinho has been a real breath of fresh air. The Portuguese manager was soon followed by world-class footballers such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, while Eric Bailly also arrived from Villarreal to help patch up the leaky defence. And while the Red Devils could probably use few more quality footballers, the reality is the squad now look much stronger than last term, but we have yet to see how they will fare in competitive matches. The Red Devils did not really impress during pre-season, suffering heavy defeat to Borussia Dortmund, while sharing spoils with Everton in the final warm-up game that was also Wayne Rooney’s testimonial, and that is why Jose Mourinho will want his side to beat the Premier League holders on Sunday and prove they are good enough to mount a serious title challenge. Both matches between the two sides ended 1-1 last season, and they do appear to be evenly matched at the moment.

Team News

Jose Mourinho is also expected to field his strongest side, with Mkhitaryan, Rooney and Martial expected to start behind lone striker Ibrahimovic.

New signing Eric Bailly should be handed his debut as well, starting alongside Daley Blind in the heart of defence.

Key Factors to Consider

The two sides played out two 1-1 draws last term

Leicester conceded eight goals in last two warm-up games

Zlatan, Mkhitaryan and Bailly to be handed debuts

Vardy, Musa and Mahrez to start for Leicester

Both teams scored in each of their past four meetings

Conclusion

With quite a few summer signings looking to impress and Jamie Vardy back into action, Leicester City can be trusted to score a goal or two at Wembley. Meanwhile, United’s front line look much stronger with Zlatan and Micki, so we do expect the both teams to score trend to continue in matches between Foxes and Red Devils.

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